Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday marked the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha with a call on the Taliban and other Islamist insurgents to join peace talks in the war-torn country. His latest call came despite a statement from Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar that the militia would never join in talks with Karzai's government. "On this holy day of Eid al-Adha again I hope that our brothers and countrymen,that the Taliban and Hezb-e-Islami,that everyone who takes a gun against their land will return to their homeland and join in the rebuilding of their country," Karzai said after a prayer meeting. "While there is no peace in Afghanistan,we will continue to invite the Taliban (to peace talks)," Karzai told reporters at the presidential palace. "This effort is for the people of Afghanistan,for peace and stability,and my hope is that Mullah Mohammad Omar and other Taliban also intend peace and stability in Afghanistan." Karzai was inaugurated on November 19 for a second five-year term after winning a fraud-tainted August poll. In his speech he repeated calls for the Taliban to rejoin the political process in Afghanistan,where about 100,000 US and NATO troops are stationed. President Barack Obama is expected to announce on Tuesday how many extra troops the United States will deploy as part of a new strategy in Afghanistan,in the ninth year since US-led troops ousted the Taliban regime.
